Cricket Garden Stake

Catherine Murphy

Chirp Up!

Captivated by copper's warm, autumnal color and its malleable qualities, Catherine Murphy and her team have transformed this ubiquitous metal—used to create American's smallest coinage, the penny—into one-of-a-kind artworks. Using a hammer, vise, anvil, and oxy-acetylene torch, they fold, forge, and anneal copper transforming it into a intricate interpretation of an oversized cricket. Propped on an extra tall garden stake, this charming critter will be easy to spot as it peeks over your yard or garden, greeting visitors with its enchanting, hand-crafted character. Handmade in North Carolina.

Catherine Murphy

location

North Carolina

“Like attracts like, as well as inspires it.”

Growing up in a military family, Catherine Murphy spent her childhood discovering new places around the world and every locale's characteristic outdoor sites. Each time she sits down to create a new piece, however, the metalworker pictures it living in her favorite place in the world: "a fabulous garden," she says, adding that she's "amazed and inspired by life in the garden.”

Her nature-themed wire copper sculptures only serve to make the green spaces themselves more amazing. In fact, it’s that merging of her two loves that "feeds my soul and keeps me motivated," she says. And if the North Carolina resident ever gets stuck, all she needs to do is go outside. "When those moments come up, my go-to spot is a bench by the river," she says. "Living in the mountains and working beside a river make for a wealth of inspiration."